These features were important to me.
needle up/ down, thread cutter, automatic needle threader
my Janome 6600 has these features, takes any thread, 9” throat, decorative stitches and my repair guy told me it was an excellent machine.$1700 included private lesson. A dream to use. Has a knee needle lift.
the machine I started on was a small singer, that used cams for the decorative stitches. I sewed and quilted my first ( king sized ) quilt on it. Very small throat. Mostly I made clothes with that. Could not FMQ on that.
Then I bought a used straight stitch Brother 1500. $500 Big throat 11inches? Had all three of the features I wanted although the needle threader didn’t work well. I like to FMQ so the big throat was nice. No zig zag or blanket applique stitch. Has a knee needle lift.It was a good solid machine but not as easy to use as the Janome. The Janome has made sewing more enjoyable.
Last edited by mjpEncinitas; 06-10-2019 at 06:22 AM.